Rail link from MG Road will add to traffic woes

Rail link from MG Road will add to traffic woes

Experts are of the opinion that starting the project from Byappanahalli will help de-congest the city road as well as save a lot of money

Niranjan Kaggere
Posted On Friday, January 02, 2009 at 01:15:01 AM

As the state government gets ready to fast-track the Rs 3,600-crore high speed rail link (HSRL) project, which is expected to improve connectivity to Bangalore International Airport (BIA), the big question that pops up is: Can the central business district afford another mega-infrastructure?

While the government is all gung-ho about the project and has asked the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (KSIIDC) to kick start the process of inviting bidders to execute the same, aviation experts and industry bodies are not all that enthused. “When the Metro Rail is getting ready to chug off and there is already a six-lane road to the BIA, why another rail link?” they ask.

They believe that making Metro Rail terminal that is coming up at Byappanahalli the starting point of the proposed rail link will not only help in decongesting the city, but also prove to be a money-saver.

City’s aviation industry observer and the chairman of the infrastructure committee of the Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BCIC), Devesh Agarwal, is of the opinion that starting the rail link from M G Road, as it is decided now, is not a prudent idea. Moreover, by the time the project is executed, the cost would cross Rs 5,500 crore.

Agarwal said it would be better to start the link from the Namma Metro terminal at Byappanahalli which is likely to be completed by the end of 2010. Besides connecting all metro stations in the city to the rail link, it would also save the cost of extending the same to MG Road.

“The same system is adopted in Singapore and partly by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and e the models have proved successful,” he said.

According to Agarwal’s plan, the link starts from the Byappanahalli depot or Indiranagar station which will become the interchange point for the adjacent Whitefield extension. Further, it proceeds towards the spot where the outer ring road joins Kannur and Bagalur via Bangalore International School. From Bagalur, a straight drive would lead to BIA.

“The centre of the city is already choked with traffic and the current route plan, considering that it would add further 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles to the existing traffic, will only escalate the traffic chaos,” he said.

“No mass transit system can survive only on passengers. It is also equally important to provide transportation for the airport workers. By 2012, with the revival of the global economy, the airport might project a passenger growth of 30 million. Even if 60 per cent passengers use the HSRL, it would fetch a maximum of three lakh trips per week with a good revenue,” he said.

Agarwal said, “The segment from south to east Bangalore, between Jayanagar and Whitefield, and the other from north-west to north Bangalore, between Vijayanagara and Yelahanka, will generate much of the air population. It has been said that the Metro will consume 30 minutes to traverse from East to West or North to South. On the Metro, it will take less time for a person to reach from Mysore Road to Bayappanahalli than it would take by road to Minsk Square where the proposed HSRL station would come up.”

“Rail has the greatest benefit when the road does not run parallel to it. But here we are putting all connectivity plans in the same place which is nothing but a duplication of infrastructure. If this has been the plan, what is the point in having 8-lane highway or elevated highway and an HSRL all in the same place as we would only divide the traffic between these two modes. Also in case of security or any terror attack, going by the present plan, airport would be virtually cut off from the outer world. Hence, it would be better if we have an alternative route,” he said.